Text, Context, Pretext . . . .

Those of you who are as much a political junkie as am I know that there has been quite a flap over Judge Sotomayor's comment that she, as a Latino Woman, would more often render good judgment than would a white male.

This brings to mind something one of my prof's drilled into our heads, while we studied hermeneutics . . . . "A Text without its Context is a Pretext . . . ."

Keith Olbermann of MSNBC has researched the larger context of the controversial sound-bite, and (rightly, in my view) points out that, when read in context and with a view toward the audience to whom it was addressed, actually points her to be a careful adjudicator of the law cognizant of her own potential bias, rather than being (shame on you, Mr. Limbaugh!) a bigot or racist.

So, those of my readers who are college students--THAT is why your profs are SOOOO insistent upon citations in your papers, and why they make SUCH A BIG DEAL ABOUT THEM.

Any quote not taken in context is a misappropriation of an author's intent, and, as such, is a PRETEXT . . . . .